Sociologists usually conceptualize events as unexpected occurrences bringing about long-lasting transformations of social structures. Following this definition, most empirical studies of events focus on pre/post-measurement strategies. Yet not all events are unexpected (e.g., Eurovision, Oscar nominations, the Olympics). Moreover, pre/post-measurements cannot capture the temporality in which meaning-making processes unfold nor account for the overlap between various events. We address these shortcomings by introducing the concept of ‘recurrent events,’ defined as events occurring with regular and recurrent cadence, charging collective effervescence and anticipation among audiences. Drawing from resonance theory, we conceptualize constellations of cultural change happening around recurrent events. We provide an empirical proof-of-concept, focusing on the case of the Eurovision Song Contest. To do so, we build a unique dataset of Eurovision lyrics and public attitudes in 18 European countries between 1981 and 2021 to study the relationships between attitudes about sexual and gender identity and national identity and the corresponding narratives presented at Eurovision. Our findings complicate common assumptions about the duality of events, by highlighting six different configurations of cultural change. We demonstrate how the concept of recurrent events contributes to the literature on events, consider the theoretical and methodological implications, and provide recommendations for future research.

中文翻译：

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走向反复事件的社会学。欧洲电视网 18 个国家的文化变革星座（1981-2021）


社会学家通常将事件概念化为带来社会结构持久转变的意外事件。根据这个定义，大多数事件的实证研究都集中在前/后测量策略上。然而，并非所有事件都是意外的（例如欧洲歌唱大赛、奥斯卡提名、奥运会）。此外，事前/事后测量无法捕捉意义形成过程展开的时间性，也无法解释各种事件之间的重叠。我们通过引入“重复事件”的概念来解决这些缺点，该概念被定义为以有规律和重复的节奏发生的事件，引起观众的集体兴奋和期待。借鉴共振理论，我们概念化了围绕重复事件发生的文化变革的星座。我们提供了一个实证概念验证，重点关注欧洲歌唱大赛的案例。为此，我们构建了 1981 年至 2021 年间 18 个欧洲国家的欧洲歌唱大赛歌词和公众态度的独特数据集，以研究有关性和性别认同以及国家认同的态度与欧洲歌唱大赛上呈现的相应叙述之间的关系。我们的发现通过强调文化变革的六种不同配置，使有关事件二元性的常见假设变得复杂。我们展示了重复事件的概念如何对事件文献做出贡献，考虑理论和方法论的含义，并为未来的研究提供建议。